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Feb 15

The Death of Superman and the rise and fall of the comics marketplace in the 90s

Superman dies so that you may live!

 

 

Way back in the early nineties, DC Comics decided to jump-start sales of their Superman comics by killing the Man of Steel!  I was ten years old, and not too familiar with comics.  I knew Superman, of course, and Batman and Wonder Woman and Spiderman, etc., but mostly through cartoons and movies, not actual comics.  This time was also long after the moral panic Hadju describes in his book, long past Dr. Wertham and his Seduction.  In fact, because of those days of moral panic and the overall dismissal of comics as a valuable medium – the resulting lack of preservation of comics – that old comics were seen as valuable collector’s items.  That carried into the present and provoked collecting crazes across the comics landscape.  Superman 75, the Death of Superman – which to me was simply a comic displaying Superman falling in the line of battle, protecting his city from the hulkish Doomsday – was a prime collecting event for others (mostly adults).  They assumed such a historic comic would be very valuable later.  Lock it in a safe for thirty years, then make a fortune.  This did not take place, unfortunately for most collectors.

In both the moral panic of the fifties, and the collecting craze of the nineties, the adult world collided with the adolescent to transform the sales of comic books.  During the moral panic, sales slumped, especially of the highest selling crime and horror comics.  This allowed abysmal and silly “children’s” based superhero comics to rise to the fore and dominate the medium for the next several decades.  With the collecting craze, however, the entire medium exploded in sales.  This was mostly due to the perception that comics of any type would be valuable someday.  Most didn’t take into account the laws of supply and demand.  Simply, the comics of by gone eras were treated poorly and were rarely preserved in mint conditions, hence their value as commodities based on the relatively small supply of cherry comics.  Modern day collectors immediately bagged comics and put them away from harmful sunlight, hoping to preserve the form and content of the pages.  But because this practice was done en masse, the books still have little value today.  It would take another comic book death march perpetrated by parents, harping on their kids to get rid of the silly things, for comics of the nineties to rise in value.  This may still happen, but probably not.

Again, what was to me a seminal experience of idol destruction, was for others an opportunity to make a buck (the comics industry equally guilty in that conceit).  The comic that was mostly meant for kids again broke through into the adult world and caused sales to sky rocket.  The unfortunate result, however, similar to the moral panic of the bygone era, was a huge sales slump following shortly after.  Collectors eventually got wise to how inflated the comics market had become and left it overnight.  This caused many comic companies to go out of business, and seriously wounded the bigger companies.  I still love Superman 75, especially the final blows both Superman and Doomsday administer to one another, mortally wounding each.  Superman dies as the savior of Metropolis and the world.  But this one comic almost killed the industry, too.  Again, the creators allowed adult interest dictate the format of their industry, and sales plummeted eventually as they had during the moral panic of the 1940s and 50s.

Feb 15

Shirley Temple – The Kid’s Last Fight

The Baby Burlesk short film The Kid’s Last Fight featured Shirley Temple as the “girlfriend” of a boxer, Diaper Dempsey.  The opening scene encompasses a classic Baby Burlesk scene in which lots of babies are in a gym training.  Most of them are lifting weights and hitting punching bags.  Shirley enters the room and immediately the attention shifts to her.  She starts walking towards Diaper when, all of a sudden, Pop Skull McGee (the defending boxing champion and Diaper’s next opponent) grabs her by the arm, pulls her to him, and exclaims, “Hello cutie!”  Shirley responds by slapping him and, subsequently, Diaper walks over and shoves him.  Diaper then goes on to proclaim that he has never lost a fight when Shirley has been in attendance.  After hearing this, McGee devises a plan to kidnap Shirley so that she cannot go to the fight.  During the fight, McGee is putting a beating on Diaper.  Shirley escapes her kidnapper and shows up in the middle of the fight.  When Diaper sees her, he gathers the energy to knock McGee out.  This Burlesk is a satire of Jack Dempsey, a legend in the boxing world.

 

After watching the Burlesk War Babies in class, we discussed the inappropriate innocence in the children, but the grown-up actions that they take.  In The Kid’s Last Fight, there were not many overly inappropriate, sexually implicit actions taken.  One could think that the way McGee grabbed Shirley and yanked her towards him was inappropriate, but it was not something that stood out very much.  However, the more inappropriate or disturbing actions in this short film took the form of violence.  The entire short was about the babies in a boxing match, beating each other up.  While some people might be disturbed by that, it seemed like one of the more tame Baby Burlesk’s that I have seen.

Diaper Dempsey shoving Pop Skull McGee, Screenshot from Youtube

Feb 15

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Mario! and Super Mario Bros!

This short melody is very familiar with every body.

Yes! this is Super Mario Bros Theme Song  in acapella version.

When I was in elementary school, I ran to home right after school to play Super Mario Bros faster than my younger brother. I was humming this song when i was running to home.

Super Mario Bros are the one of the famous character in the world. Kid to grandfather, boys and girls, most of people know Super Mario Bros. Many people think that Super Mario Bros is the first Mario game from Nintendo, but  it was not the first game of Mario. In 1981, when Nintendo arcade game company is in bad economic situation, president of Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto, create an arcade game to save the company. ‘Miyamoto came up with the idea of a game in which the playable character has to make his way through an obstacle course consisting of sloped platforms, ladders and rolling barrels. Miyamoto named the game Donkey Kong, and its main protagonist “Jumpman”. Donkey Kong was big hit in North america arcade game industry and then Miyamoto named ‘Jumpman’ to ‘Mario’ , name from Italian warehouse man who came to receive rent from Nintendo company. So the Mario was created. After Mario’s first appear, Mario has appeared over 200 games titles and also in many of movies and comics. Mario series are still available in the market.

At the time of my young age,around 9-10, Super Mario games were so popular, Price was about $120 in American currency but when we transfer this money to present currency, it is worth about value of $500. It was very expensive to have game system, therefore most of my friends’s dream were receiving game system. Since Mario was male character in the game, it might influence on the girl’s gender identity as statement from the  Elizabeth Segel “the girl reader ,no doubt, identified with these enviable heroes as she read, and, theoretically, she could have used them as role models in the dearth of fictional female alternatives to tamed tomboys and saintly sisters.”(177).  However I don’t agree with her because when children play roles as Mario’s characters, boy always wanted to play Mario brothers and girls always wanted to play princess Peach. Therefore, girl didn’t have many of influence on gender identity.

 

Feb 15

Temple in Distress

Shirley Temple truly plays her part as Nell in the “Glad Rags to Riches” (1932) Baby Burlesk short film. Interestingly enough, this film was actually not a spin-off of another film. Shirley Temple stars as a dancer at the Lullaby Lobster Palace, and the nightclub owner baby, later called the Diaper Viper, is very discouraging even though she was cute and the audience (of babies) was amused. The Diaper Viper ignores Nell who says she cannot go on dancing, but he will not let her leave because he wants to marry her. She mentions that she wishes her sweetheart would come and save her. We later find out his name is Elmer. He shows up and through a humorous series of events, wins Nell over the Diaper Viper.

 

You really have to consider how long it took to film with a cast of so many small children. They probably had to rehearse the lines right before the scene was shot. I disagree with the notion that kids are not exploited during acting because the point is that they do as they are told. They tilt their head in a certain way or stand up at a certain line. But taking it a step further, these are not children acting as children. “The children literally go through the motions of adult characters without presumably, comprehending anything about the drama they are enacting.” (Kasson 131) Shirley Temple played Nell, whose age is up for interpretation, but she is old enough to have a sweetheart and to have men fighting over her.

 

A different exploitation well worth noting – the exploitation of women – is very present in this film. It is more an emphasis on making the woman a victim than making her flirtatious. Nell is so tired of her job and can’t go on but the Diaper Viper won’t let her go until she marries him, perhaps inferring that if Elmer did not save her, she may have married the Diaper Viper. Shirley may have learned from this and many other characters she portrayed, that men have power over women. Theoretically, in real life she could have quit and walked out but that is not an option it seems in this film. Shirley’s character is less flirtatious than the typical one described in Kasson’s “Behind Shirley Temple’s Smile.” Elmer proclaims, “Alas that I should find you in a state of inequity,” reiterating the idea that she is not being treated fairly and she says “please save me,” vocalizing her damsel in distress role, needing to be saved by a man.

 

A significant aspect of the film is the use of a darker child as the helper in Nell’s dressing room, addressing the still racist environment of the time. Women are still playing the roles of damsels in distress and flirtatious, but casting a film set in today’s time of a nonwhite person serving a white person would be unacceptable. There is also the use of a dog! Some comic relief (Relief from what? Or maybe just more comedy?) in a classic form, where the dog eats the ice cream held behind the back of a child. I’ll admit the film was entertaining, but just as some rap songs are derogatory towards women but still sometimes enjoyable, the themes of the film were not uplifting towards women.

Feb 15

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“Eagle Dad”

Four year old Duoduo

    On February 9, 2012, CNN posted an article about a Chinese family that sparked controversy from the U.S. to Beijing about Chinese parenting techniques.  In the article, the father of a four year old little boy posted a video where he demonstrates his parental philosophies by showing his son with hardly any clothes on running in the snow crying for his parents to pick him up.  The father says he and his wife made their son run and lay in the snow, wearing only shoes and his underpants, to toughen him up.  I personally believe that parents should be able to raise their children as long as they are not seen as unfit.  I would never require that my own child do as the four year old was depicted in the CNN article, however, I would also not support anyone telling a parent how to raise their children.  I personally believe that rearing a child with a belt is a great way to teach a child a lesson when others may call the slightest infliction of pain “child abuse.”

So, what I have noticed when children are the root of a social dispute is that there is a very fine line between what is best for a child and what is harmful to that child.  In her book “From Useful to Useless,” Viviana A. Zelizer tells how social disputes concerning child labor laws emerged at the turn of the 20th century.  By the age of six, children were starting to help out their families by entering into the work force.  Those who opposed children working this early might have referred to child labor as “child slavery” just as Indiana Senator Albert Beveridge did. (36)  Christians felt that “A man who defends the child labor that violates the personalities of children is not a Christian…” (37)  Would making your child run around half naked in freezing cold weather violate the personality of that child?  The Chinese father says that his parenting doesn’t go against his son’s will.  His method could be argue as “greedy and brutal tyrants” just as Employers of young children were depicted as in Zelizer’s writings. (37)

What if the Chinese father was also raised the same way he chooses to raise his son?  Could he associate his upbringing with his success?  Many people who argued for child labor felt just as such.  People who grew up on their families farm working hard thought it helped instill honor, virtue, and a greater work ethic.  They believed children who weren’t required to work would be weaker than the hard working population.  This is very similar to the Chinese dad believing that his parental technique would strengthen his son both mentally and physically in the long run.  In Ross F. Collins’, “Boy Scouts: A Battle for Martial Values,” there was a similar dispute over our young generation being taught to be militant.  Those who believed in this type of traing felt that “modern life was sapping the American boy of his strength.” (104)  So, how far is too far?

Well, with great disputes comes mass media.  What helped the labor reformers according to Zelizer, was the rising popularity of the issue. (36)  Seeing that this father’s video of his parenting technique made a guest appearance on CNN, we may experience a rise in awareness that could trigger a reform in Chinese parenting laws.

Feb 15

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Caramel Delight

In a recent news article about Girls Scouts selling cookies

Girl Scout cookies, theothermccain.com/

, the organization claims to build the girl’s business and entrepreneurial skills through the selling of these cookies. The article points out five main elements of selling cookies that facilitates better business skills. These elements include:

  1. You should work with already existing customers to boost your sales, rather than going out and trying to find new consumers.
  2. You do not have to particularly like what you’re selling in order to be the best person selling it.
  3. Dialing random numbers (referred to here as cold calling) is not necessarily a terrible way to boost your sales.
  4. Sales targets work by giving you a sales goal to reach.
  5. Customers like buying directly from the Girl Scout.

This article relates back to two class discussions we have had in the recent weeks. One of the discussions, and readings, was particularly related to the rough rode Girls Scouts had before becoming recognized as boy scout equivalent and equal counterpart. However, even though the image presented by the selling of cookies does not give girls the feeling of being a part of physical labor, or a war, they do learn to put themselves in a masculine position. Corporate America has long been dominated by male America and by teaching young girls the ins and outs of how to be a great business woman, even on a small scale, they better prepare these girls to be a in a male dominated industry.

Today in class, we also touched on how a platform directed toward a specific consumer audience helps people buy into that idea. Girl Scouts are specifically made to empower girls and by creating this platform, people who put their children in this organization are buying into this particular platform. Thus, it does give the Girl Scouts organization a moral obligation to live up to their mission.

 

 

Feb 15

Dance Moms Controversy

Recently, reality television has evolved to include children as entertainment to American viewers. Popular shows like “Toddlers and Tiaras,” and “Dance Moms” have received much criticism for the way children, mostly young girls, are being exploited. As Sarah Porter mentions in her blog about “Toddlers and Tiaras,” the amount of preparation for pageants is a lot of work and pressure for young girls. This is also seen in “Dance Moms,” which follows a group of girls ages 6-13 in the Abbey Lee Dance Company. The show highlights all of the hard work and pressures that it takes to be a successful dancer. The young girls in the show spend hours everyday at the dance studio practicing, and on the weekends compete in dance competitions all over the country. In recent controversy, actress Katherine Heigl, slammed the show “Dance Moms” for how it exploits young girls. Heigl mentions in her blog, “girls as young as seven were encouraged to dress provocatively and shimmy around stage doing a dance performance that could just as easily been a burlesque routine. I kept thinking all these girls were missing is a pole!” Heigl goes on to rant more about how Abbey Lee, the dance instructor for the young girls is too harsh with them and yells at them instead of encouraging them. Heigl insists that shows like “Dance Moms” encourage children to think that acting sexy is the best way to succeed, when instead children could be performing with age appropriate routines.

When reading Kasson’s article, “Behind Shirley Temple’s Smile,” I immediately thought of the girls on “Dance Moms.” Like Shirley Temple, the girls on “Dance Moms” are expected to always be at their best in performances and put in many hours to succeed. Also, they have in common the aspect of flirtatiousness in their performances. While people loved Shirley Temple long ago, it seems we are still entertained by the same themes today.

Below is a video of the Abbey Lee Dance Company performance, ‘Electricity’

 

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